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Facebook Places Launches In UK

Facebook has now rolled out its location check-in service Places to the UK, its third country since launching in the US in August. The service launched in Japan, where it is known as Spot, earlier this week. The UK is an ideal place for the launch of Places. Like Japan, it is a densely populated island nation with a high existing level of tech adoption. It also has the advantage of the English language and close cultural ties with the United States. Many Britons will have already heard of Places and be keen to try it out.

You can expect to see constant launches as Facebook tries to roll out Places in all its countries by the end of the year. The reason for the staggered launch is because Facebook is working with local partners in each country for initial listings data, rather than relying on it being 100% user-generated as Gowalla did.

Facebook has reportedly partnered with Associated Newspapers to populate the UK service with location-relevant restaurant and film reviews when you check in. This feature is London only at this stage.

However, some users have already been tripped up by the ability to create locations anywhere, with this PaidContent writer accidentally creating a location at his home. (Didn’t he read the U.S. reports?).